Freed
by FujoshiPrince
Summary: They had all been there for so long that, no matter how much they tried to deny it, they had turned into mere puppets. They couldn't die, couldn't escape. They could only wait for Dragon Slayer to grow tired of them and set them free.


_"Live and never die, live and never die."_

She lifts her head up, straining against the thick chains that bind her to the ceiling of the massive labyrinth. To tell the truth, it isn't much of a ceiling. Just planks of rotten wood floating in the air. She cannot see the sky. The fog blocks it out. The fog blocks _everything _out. _Hope, love, tolerance..._

If she sniffs hard enough, she can smell the corruption: a thick, humid stank that hangs in the air as far as she can see.

_"Stay with me forever, I command of you. Stay with me forever, my sweet, for I am the only one who loves you.."_

The voice is sharp and clear and sweet as honey and it cuts through the dull groans and muffled sobs that only help strengthen the atmosphere, of, well, _sickening **evil. **_After all these years, she knows the words off by heart. How every single syllable is pronounced, how _she _rolls her r's when she finishes the incantation. She has memorized every guttural growl, every pause, and every short interval where there is a quiet rustling of ancient pages before the chanting starts again. _  
_

_"For you are mine and mine alone, and may Fate strike you down if you ever dare escape my grasp."_

The funny thing is that she recognizes the words, even though they are in a different language. She has been here for so long that she has even become fluent of the language that is_ her _native tongue. She can't even remember how long she's been here. Months fade into years, years fade into decades, decades fade into centuries, and centuries fade into millenia. She had stopped counting long, long ago.

_"I forbid you to die. I command you to rise from the flame and ash, and never die. I command you to live, this is my demand, my precious children,"_

She had stopped sobbing long ago. It wasn't as if crying did any good. So she had always done her best to stamp down on the welling sorrow. She had been here for so long that she wasn't sure if she could feel emotion anymore. She had turned into little more than a puppet in the past hundred millenia. She had been here for so long that she had forgotten her own name.

_"My Pariah, my Angel, my Dancer, my Chimera, my Trickster, my Riddler."  
_

None of them could remember their names any longer. _She_ gave them names based on first impressions, and they clung onto these new names feverishly, not wanting to lose the last piece of identity that they had. Dragon Slayer had given her the name _Pariah, _and despite the humiliation of it, she had referred to herself as such when she found she could not remember her other name.

_(Berry Slasher? Candy-Wrapped Blade? Something to do with sweetness...)_

There was a loud slam, followed by a splash as the book was closed and then dropped into the murky waters of the Labyrinth. She heard footsteps, coming closer and closer, and she inhaled sharply, holding her breath. _Not this time, _she tells herself, _I won't let it happen this time. _

* * *

Dragon Slayer walks up the blue-ish marble stairs that marked Pariah's prison, stopping at the glass coffin bound with glowing blue chains that kept her little pet from escaping. Pariah watched her with dead violet eyes, as if daring Dragon Slayer to unlock the coffin. Dragon Slayer decided against it. _Kill me, _those puppet-like eyes seemed to say, _I dare you. _

_"Soon," _Dragon Slayer promises, _"soon_,"

Dancer stirs in her coffin and Dragon Slayer smiles fondly. She still wasn't awake. She raps sharply on the glass with her fist, and Dancer's grey eyes fly open. The girl's lips open in a silent scream and Dragon Slayer smiles wickedly. She reaches forward and deftly pulls the thick black chains away from the glass prison. Dancer is leaning back against the glass, scrabbling wildly at it, trying to get away from Dragon Slayer.

Dragon Slayer swings the door open with a loud click and Dancer wails, but does not protest. Dragon Slayer smirks. They had long since stopped protesting. Dancer's pale skin is marred with scars, freshly-bleeding gashes, and lines of poorly-done stitches. There are dark bags under her eyes and her left ankle seems to be fractured. There is a thick black band of metal around her neck and two smaller ones around her wrists with thin glowing chains connecting them. To an ordinary being, she would've ugly, pitiful, _tainted. _But to Dragon Slayer, Dancer, poor broken sorrowful Dancer, is the picture of beauty.

She grabs the girl by one of the chains connecting her wrists and yanks her forward, making Dancer squeal. The rough rock of the floor and the scattered debris cut Dancer's feet and she cries silently, tears running down her face and dropping onto the ground, making the black rock sizzle and smoke. _"Move faster, darling_," spits Dragon Slayer, yanking harder and Dancer has no choice but to obey. She quickens her pace until the jagged black rock is cutting painfully deep into her bare feet, but she tries to ignore the pain.

They begin to near the remains of a mausoleum decorated with thick metal thorns and Dancer's eyes widen when she sees Chimera. The redhead's horns have been ripped off and orange blood is steadily flowing down her face and staining her dirty, yellow, silk dress. She has been nailed to a large marble cross: small silver nails through her hands, feet, and neck, and one black nail through her chest. There is a ball-and-chain mace hanging out of her side, the handle swinging gently in the foul breeze, and Dancer collapses to her knees to vomit into a pond of stinking grey water.

Dragon Slayer grabs Dancer's back, fingers digging into the skin and Dancer springs to her feet, shuddering at the feeling of blood running down her legs. They reach a clearing amongst the metal thorns and dirty spiked clock gears. Dragon Slayer takes a step back and Dancer squeals as small golden chains drop out of nowhere. They curl around her body, pulling her clothes off until she feels even more vulnerable.

Thick iron chains pull her into the air, cuffing her wrists together and holding them up. Two more chains coil around her chest, constricting until she hear a series of loud sickening cracks and she screams. _No, please, not this, anything but this._ She had always been good friends with Pariah and Chimera, but that didn't mean that she wanted to take their places.

_"Don't you love your friends?" _asks Dragon Slayer and Dancer screams, _"No! NO!" _

_"Too bad," _is the reply and Dancer can only sob as a black silk blindfold ties itself around her head and her vision is cut off. She feels something being placed on her head. Dragon Slayer pats her on the head. _"Well, my queen, who I have bestowed upon my crown, what do you wish for me to do_?"

"_Let me go. Please. I beg of you. Please, let me go home. Let me out of this maze! Please! I beg of you!" _

Another laugh. _"I think not."_

She hears a weapon being unsheathed and turns frantically in the direction of Chimera, who is softly singing to herself. _"Please! Help me! Please! I beg of you! Don't leave me! Don't let this happen to m-" _Dancer's pleas are abruptly silenced as she feels a cold blade being dragged up her chest and she stops begging. There is no escape. Not now, not ever.

* * *

Chimera hears the cries as clear as day, yet makes no move to act upon them.

Even if she could have done something against Dragon Slayer, she wouldn't have. Unlike the others, she is still completely sane. She remembers her name quite clearly (_Demon Furnace_) and everything that happened in her past life, before she was taken to this hell. She has always been an observer, never one to act upon her desires, or another's orders. That had never changed, and it never would.

Although, she allowed herself the desire to try and escape. At first, anyways. After the first six girls who had tried to escape were exiled to a land of constant, even-worse pain, any hope of ever leaving had instantly been snuffed out. Anyone who dared enter this twisted sadist's utopia was bound to serve Dragon Slayer until they were killed by the woman herself.

There had only been a few that had visited and then left quite safely.

The first had been a girl with long black hair and green eyes who wielded a rectangular black sword. When she sang, massive shards of ice would break through the ground, and when she breathed out, a sheet of ice would form on whatever she was breathing on. Her name was Underworld Icicle if Chimera remembered correctly, and she visited to take orders.

The second had long shining black hair and pink-purple eyes. She did not seem to wield any weapons, but she must've had at least one due to the gunfire and screams that Chimera had heard before she had entered. She wore a maid's outfit, and almost never spoke. She had been called Maid Gunner, and she too worked for Dragon Slayer, although she appeared much less frequently than Underworld Icicle.

The third and fourth and been a girl with dark brown hair and red-pink eyes. She had black claws in place of hands, and wielded a massive golden saw. _Black Gold Saw. _There had been a girl accompanying her, a tiny little thing with orange eyes, white hair, and who could don a pair of massive, robot-like metal arms. They had come to make a deal with Dragon Slayer. The little one seemed weak, but Chimera had cried out in surprise when Black Gold Saw had accidentally stepped on a tripline. A massive block of solid steel had came out of nowhere and the little one had simply held out a glove-clad fist and the block had shattered.

Yes, Chimera wants nothing else but to escape, but she refuses to act upon her urges. Impulse isn't, never has, and never will serve her well, no matter what. She will not plan her escape, will not join in with the others when they scream out vows to end Dragon Slayer's life as painfully as possible in fits of rage.

She will merely observe until due time. She can feel it inside of her, can feel the tug pulling at her heart.

She will be rescued. In the end, someone will come find her, someone who has the abilities to defeat the great and almighty Dragon Slayer, someone who will tear apart the horrible labyrinth that is their prison and let them free.

(_Has she ever been this reliant on others?_)

She thinks of herself when she was Demon Furnace -as ridiculous as her name was, at least it actually _was _a name-, before she was the mutant freak that she is now. Yes, she had never had her own area, so she roamed the desolate wasteland that was the so-called Otherworld, looking for Others and roasting them alive with a silver flamethrower that spat purple-red flames. Then she would tear apart the barriers that held their area away from the grey desert and step in, staying there until an Other that threatened her came along.

Then she would leave, and the process would start over again. Sometimes she would find small groups of ridiculously weak Others and manipulate them into fighting for her when she needed it.

(_For a resident of the Otherworld, she was truly pathetic)_

And why exactly did she continue to delude herself?

_No one would ever save **her. **She was despicable, lazy, no better than Dragon Slayer herself. Who would possibly bother to save her? _

She feels a sharp stinging all over her body as the nails stuck into her body slowly push out on their own. She falls clumsily from the cross, the sharp rocks reopening old wounds. She ignores the pain, however. She sees a glint out of the corner out of her eye, and walks over to a small pile of rubble.

She throws the pieces of contaminated junk into the black oil-like lake behind her until she has reached the treasure at the bottom.

A battleaxe.

She picks it up off the ground easily, turning it a little and letting the blade catch what little light isn't blocked by the rotten planks and chains hanging in the sky.

She hears rustling and squeaks a little further from where she is standing and quickly recognizes the voices of the twins, Dragon Slayer's latest victims. Riddler and Trickster. Black Space and Twisted Time. And they were surprisingly weak for their reputation in the Otherworld and their names.

_But they were escapees, and that was all that matters._

_"Mistress Dragon Slayer," _she whispers, _"Do you wish for me to take action? I am an observer, but you are my lady, and I am forever bound to you. I am yours, and I will burn all to be with you. What do you wish, my lady? I will do all,"_

She cannot see Dragon Slayer, but she can almost feel the air humming in satisfaction. The voice comes back, loud and clear even though Dragon Slayer is nowhere to be seen. _"Take away my darling little demons. They are too much trouble. Burn them, hack them to pieces, and present me their heads, child,"_

_"Yes, my lady," _she bows for good effect.

(_Not only is she pathetic, she's a suck-up as well)_

* * *

Angel waits._  
_

She stands upright, imprisoned in a coffin made of diamond and criss-crossed with strings of massive pink pearls. Her arms are crossed over her chest and bound to her sides by shining white strings dotted with glimmers of dark blue. She had stopped straining against them after the first few days.

She had always been a quitter. A _failure. _

The wall of diamond slightly distorted her vision of what was outside, but she could still see. She could see a row of white steps with a line of velvet red ropes on either side. Beyond those ropes was an army of silver knights holding double-edged swords, axes, crossbows, and glossy triangular shields bearing a black-and-yellow coat of arms, Dragon Slayer's symbol. She doubted that there were people in those suits of armor, but the spaces behind their visors glowed bright blue, and every now and again, one of them would flex or lunge forward, weapons in hand.

When she managed to uncross her arms and knock on the surface of the crystalline coffin, every single one of them would suddenly turn toward her, the blue reddening into purple and white sparks flying from behind the visors. The knights that stood at the front of each row were holding massive double-bladed scythes tipped with golden yellow, and when they thought that she was going to escape, they would lift their weapons and twirl the blades in the air before putting them down with a clang.

After around four hours of shivering each time one of those horrible suits of armor turned toward her, the strings suddenly fell to the ground, as if cut with a pair of scissors. The pearls fell away from the coffin, crumbling into ash the moment they touched the ground, and the coffin unlatched itself and swung open.

Angel cautiously steps out of her glass-like prison, rubbing the red marks where the white string had cut into her arms. Out of all of Dragon Slayer's pets, she was sure that she was the favorite. She wasn't surprised. She had been quite vain before Dragon Slayer had taken her away, and it was good to know that it had paid off.

Angel had long curly white hair that matched her previous name (_White Feather Radence), _slightly tanned skin, and bright orange eyes that shone brilliantly in the dimness of the labyrinth. She was thin and lithe, and was used to wearing not too much. She wore not much else than a black strap of leather with a white chain attached to it covering her breasts, a thick leather belt with a white buckle around her hips, and black platform boots with white heels and white wings attached to the ankles.

Her clothes _did _matter, she had realized during her first day in Dragon Slayer's company. The more attractive she was, the nicer Dragon Slayer treated in her, in 'fear' that she would destroy Angel's pretty looks.

Angel probably minded being there the least out of all of them. Pariah said nothing and went on living as a puppet maneuvered by Dragon Slayer. Dancer, after millions of years, was still terrified and eager to escape. Chimera simply did not care anymore, and like Pariah, observed and watched the other pets die around her whilst silently cursing Dragon Slayer whenever she had the chance, praising her whenever she stepped into earshot with that massive golden sword in hand.

That didn't mean that she still _feared. _She hated it when she felt those chains snake up her body and rose upwards, slowly pulling her apart. And then she would feel Dragon Slayer's sharp fingernails digging into her skin until she would let out a broken sob.

The humiliation was probably the worst of it. But there were others that had suffered worse.

Angel walks on, eventually stopping at a slowly rotting pier. There is a slow rumble, and then a massive black shape rises out of the slimy green water. A massive leathery black wall rises up in front of her, and then a slitted green-and-black eye appears in the wall.

Deimos. The pitiful creature who had earned Dragon Slayer her name. The poor beast was draped in faintly glowing chains, and for a second, Angel pities it. She would not release it, though. It was the one dragon that Dragon Slayer had not slaughtered for her own sick amusement, and Angel doubted that it would simply fly away into the sunset as soon as it was free. The creature was at least a hundred times bigger than her, had not eaten in centuries, and she did not want to become its next meal.

Two shrill screams distract Angel from her thoughts and she shudders. She can hear the distant wet thud of a weapon making contact with flesh, and the bloody face of Chimera, horns ripped off and left to grow back over and over again, flickers into her mind. One of the screams is abruptly cut off, and the other fades into a sob. There's a long pause, and then there's a loud splash. Deimos begins to growl and thrash weakly around in the water.

Angel sighs. _"I am sorry, my beauty." _

_"Mis...tress...loves you- set me **free- **I beg of you...my Queen...set me free, white angel..."_

_"I apologize, my beauty. I cannot. But you will escape. As sure as the corpses of the two little ones are floating to you right now, you will fly again."_

There's a low impatient growl as Deimos sinks back into the waters. The surface of the water ripples as Deimos slowly swims away in search of the twin bodies.

A gong sounds from some other faraway place in the labyrinth, and she hears loud clanging and metallic footsteps. She turns around. She can see her crystal palace in the distance. If she runs fast enough, she will make it in time. Before she can run up the white steps, however, something heavy tackles her to the ground.

She screams as a pair of cold metal arms grab her by the ankles and begin to drag her facedown across the floor.

(_It hurts)_

* * *

Dragon Slayer sits on her throne. It is ridiculously tall and made up of large black thorns, skulls, and massive golden gems. Thunder rumbles in the distance. The exit to the Otherworld is behind her throne, and she guards it warily. _  
_

She hears a growl and looks down, smiling. She reaches down and scratches the baby dragon the head. It is one of the last of its kind, aside from Deimos, and she has named it Eros. It purrs and rolls onto its back, opening its mouth for a second so Dragon Slayer can see the rows of razor-sharp fangs which are stained with greyish blood.

(_Honestly, Dancer had been too frail for her tastes. She would have to be replaced.)_

She hears loud crunching somewhere far off, and smiles to herself. Deimos was annoyingly rebellious, but extremely useful for disposing of corpses when she could not be bothered to throw them into the dark pit of horrors.

_(The twins were too hopeful. Despite what she had put them through, they still huddled together whenever they could, plotting and planning)_

Dragon Slayer laughs softly to herself. She never saw the explosion coming.

* * *

Pariah lifts her head. She can hear rumbling in the distance. She can hear thunder in the distance. And with the thunder, the slight thudding of footsteps- or is that just her imagination?

She shakes her arms and the chains that bind her and Angel to the thorny iron tree that the knights had tied them to fall off. Angel collapses onto the ground and makes no move to get up. Pariah straightens and rubs the _FREAK _branded into the back of her neck. She walks briskly to the crystal palace.

_She can feel it in her bones. Her salvation is coming soon. And now Pinocchio is going to be reborn as a human. _

She climbs up the white steps and locks herself into the coffin, waiting. She had told a fair amount of lies as a child. The fairy that had told her not to lie had been her friends. The whale that had swallowed her was Dragon Slayer. And the person who had, in a way, kept her alive and was now about to save her was-

A name jumps into her mind.

_Black Rock Shooter._

* * *

It had been surprisingly easy to underestimate the blue-eyed girl, Dragon Slayer thinks. She had heard rumors. Of course she had. This 'Black Rock Shooter' had been the talk of the town- well, the Otherworld- for quite some time now. An invulnerable blue-eyed girl who wore a white star and blasted her way through whoever stood in it.

The fight had started off on Dragon Slayer's side. The explosion had startled her, yes. She was used to little to no company. The few Others who appeared in her labyrinth were normally bewildered and unarmed, having fallen in from the outside. Black-clad living weapons who wielded curved shining black swords and massive cannons wasn't exactly high on her list of people to watch out for.

She was a little ashamed that she knew next to nothing of this Black Rock Shooter. She talked to Black Gold Saw regularly, and she had talked of observing a near invincible girl. Everyone knew when she had beaten Chariot -vicious, slaughtering, _psychotic _Chariot- and some even swore that they had seen Chariot's body fall into the pit of blackness.

People spoke of a girl with blue eyes and black hair who destroyed an Other named Dead Master's area, and then proceeded to stab her with her own scythe. People spoke of a girl with a flame of violet that had destroyed the Hulk-like STRength. This Queen of Violet who destroyed all in her path certainly seemed a rather formidable opponent.

And then the 'original' Black Rock Shooter had appeared and slaughtered the Queen of Violet.

And now the 'original' Black Rock Shooter was here, and was now tearing the walls that Dragon Slayer had oh-so-carefully set up apart. The girl was fast, Dragon Slayer gave her that. She moved like lightning, jumping and flipping about whenever Dragon Slayer struck. When the chains looped and tightened around her, Black Rock Shooter would twist about and hack the chains apart; altogether halting her for about three seconds. And then the battle would resume.

Dragon Slayer would only occasionally land a strike, the blade of her sword going right through Black Rock Shooter's side. The blue-eyed girl didn't even blink, only jumped out of harm's way again and continued her attacks. Every now and again, glowing rings of blue would stretch out over her cannon. When they cleared away, she was holding a cannon even larger than the first.

Dragon Slayer ducks. Black Rock Shooter attacks again. The chains which normally _easily _subdued her little pets only hindered Black Rock Shooter for a maximum of six seconds. Black Rock Shooter was unbelievably agile, and this was beginning to get frustrating.

After what seemed like days, Dragon Slayer was both exhausted and irritated. She jumped forward, sword in hand, her crown toppling off her head as she did so. And that's when it all went wrong.

She heard the legends of the old times:

_"When the Queen dons the crown, she will become unstoppable, the Lord over the King,"_

But she had never believed them. A crown was a mere accessory, not a symbol of power.

_She really was an **idiot. **_

Everything went downhill after that. Within minutes, she lay sprawled on the ground, backed up between her throne and Black Rock Shooter. Black Rock Shooter's eyes shone almost malevolently as she lifted her cannon to the space between Dragon Slayer's eyes. The weapon whirred and clicked until it was glowing blindingly brightly.

_No escape now. _

* * *

The coffin shatters around her, the chains corroding impossibly fast. The knights have been reduced to lumps of solder. The metal trees of thorns are withering away, and the toxic lake is slowly disappearing. She hears a triumphant roar. Seconds later, the massive dragon (Deimos?) is flying overhead and into the sky. It flies upward until the green-black sky _breaks apart_, revealing a grey sky and white sunlight.

She hears a small chittering sound and looks down at her feet. The second, much smaller dragon hops up to her and nuzzles into her stomach whilst whining.

Pariah stares.

All around her, the labyrinth is falling apart, crumbling away. The corpses of Angel and Dancer are swept away into a huge pit on the edge of the horizon. The smoldering corpse of Chimera soon follows.

Pariah stares.

_No, it can't be. It wasn't possible- surely not-_

She hears footsteps behind her and spins around. She is facing a girl with black hair and blue eyes that glow like gems. In her hand, she holds a black sword covered with broken-off chains. There is a slash up her side that has a blue sand-like material running out of it. There is a slowly vanishing blue flame covering her right eye. She holds out her hand- and Pariah gasps.

_Because in the girl's hand is Dragon Slayer's crown._

She reaches forward.

* * *

Black Rock Shooter is a little surprised when the girl with the purple hair in front of her takes the crown and puts it onto Black Rock Shooter's head. The girl gets onto her knees and bows, over and over again.

Then she gets up and hugs Black Rock Shooter. There is an ear-splitting smile on the girl's face when she finally lets go.

Black Rock Shooter is sure that she hears the girl say _"Thank you."_ before she runs off into the Otherworld. But that couldn't be it. They weren't supposed to thank her, were they? She takes the crown and stares at it. Then she clenches her fist and it crumbles into ash. The gem set into the crown glows faintly, then falls to the ground with a hard _plink_. Black Rock Shooter watches as the rest of Dragon Slayer's area fades away. It feels as if a burden has been lifted from her shoulders.

She flicks her wrist and the sword in her hand morphs into a cannon. She runs forward, and then abruptly stops. Impulsively, she turns and runs up a massive bone thorn protruding out of the ground. The wind ruffles her hair and her jacket. She takes a deep breath, enjoying the pleasant coldness.

She pulls her hood away from her face. The gem from Dragon Slayer's crown is clenched tightly in her fist. She wasn't aware that she had picked it up.

She holds the now dull jewel up to the sunlight. It reflects many colors- red, lime green, dark green, grey-blue, bright white- but the brightest is a beam of violet. The violet light reflects from all over the jewel, but most of it is casting purplish shadows that dance across Black Rock Shooter's face.

She smiles. _"You're welcome."_

_**~END~**_

* * *

***looks at this***

***makes pterodactyl noise and throws tablet out the window***


End file.
